Defense cases strain Airway Heights court

A growing number of cases requiring public defense means some changes could be coming to Airway Heights’ Municipal Court in the very near future.

At the Monday, April 1 Airway Heights City Council meeting the city’s public defender, Ronnie Rae, said a decision by the Supreme Court last year has impacted the number of cases he can take at a municipal level. With Airway Heights’ recent annexations, the number of cases he sees has increased.

Rae said a voluminous number of cases are coming from Walmart and Northern Quest. The resort and casino operation makes up one-third of the cases...